


Harmony

by ashinan



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-19
Updated: 2012-03-19
Packaged: 2017-11-02 04:45:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/365110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashinan/pseuds/ashinan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony won't admit that he's jealous when Dummy and You circle around Steve like eager puppies. He just has a strange heart condition. Obviously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harmony

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Marr on tumblr! She needs to stop with the ideas.

Dummy and You’s upgrades come faster this time around then Tony is prepared for. With the Avengers, his relocation to New York, and the company fighting him every step of the way, Tony was lucky to even get  _Dummy’s_  last upgrade in, and that only worked because Steve was there to distract him. Tony mulls over asking Steve if he wouldn’t mind doing it again when the side door beeps and the man in question appears.

And both Dummy and You go kind of mental.

Tony watches in surprised fascination as Dummy drops the wrench he was originally holding for Tony, little wheels skidding as he rushes over to Steve’s side. He bumps into Steve’s chest, coos when Steve scratches behind his third finger, and is being a general sap. Tony rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, you baby, get back here. You, hand me that –” but You is also over by Steve, mechanical fingers plucking at Steve’s hair and practically purring when Steve laughs and scratches at him as well. Tony watches for a few more seconds, a tight pinch in his mechanical heart making him twitch, before he picks up the discarded wrench.

“Oi! You! Dummy! Get back here. We have to set up your upgrade stations,” Tony says, standing. Dummy ignores him to wheel over to the kitchen, mucking around until he picks up his favourite blender cup. You is tugging Steve toward the other side of the room, eager to show off his new sleeping station. Steve shoots Tony an apologetic look.

Dummy clicks and rushes back to Steve’s side, pushing the blender into his hands until Steve grabs hold. He then whirls away again, chattering happily, and Tony feels the cold cut of the wrench in his hands. He’s not jealous. He’s  _not_.

“What did you do, Rogers?” Tony asks and Steve carefully untangles You’s grasping hand.

“Nothing?”

“You made them love you somehow. What did you do?” Tony marches up to him, eyes narrowed. Steve plucks the wrench from his hand and pats Dummy when he noses between them. Dummy takes hold of the blender again with a eager whir.

“Honest, Tony, I didn’t do anything. They just – well, they enjoy my company?” Steve shrugs and Dummy beeps happily, pressing close to Steve’s side. You shoves in on the other side and Tony throws his hands into the air.

“You’ve converted my babies! You’re taken them away from me. What, are you going to steal Jarvis next?” Tony  _doesn’t_  stalk back to his workstation. Steve follows after him, whispering soft to Dummy and sending You up ahead to where Tony is. Tony ignores the gentle tug of You’s fingers and grabs for the torch, sitting down to start on the upgrade station. Steve hovers behind him, obvious worry flicking off him in waves.

“What are you working on?” he asks after a few minutes. Tony sighs and flicks off the torch.

“Upgrade station. Dummy needs a new upgrade again and he’s somehow infected You with attitude when it comes to these sorts of things. So, upgrade station to keep them occupied,” Tony explains, patting at You’s head. You clicks at him and picks up a cleaning cloth. “They’ll be done soon and Dummy will have easier access to the mainframe. You isn’t old enough to play around in there yet, and Jarvis has issues dealing with the both of them at the same time.”

There’s a bump against his side and Dummy dips under his arm, touching the blender cup to the arc reactor before skirting back and rushing to the kitchen. Tony watches him, grins soft when Dummy can’t quite get the blender cup on right, and winces as it flies in the opposite direction when Dummy turns it on. Dummy beeps in confusion and Steve laughs behind him.

Steve goes quiet for a few seconds, obviously mulling something over. Tony keeps his eyes fixed on Dummy. Steve asks, “Do you need help? I mean, do you need to keep them occupied?”

Tony turns in his seat, catching Steve’s eye, and bites at his tongue. You is shining over the metal rods of the upgrade station, and Dummy gives out an excited chirp when he picks up his blender cup. It’s what Tony wanted, really, and he sighs, waving his hand.

“Yes. Thanks.”

They manage to wrangle both Dummy and You into their stations, Dummy still holding on stubbornly to his blender cup. Steve sits between them both, one hand pressed to the back of Dummy’s head and the other fiddling with You’s mechanical fingers. Tony starts in on You, because he’s the youngest and apparently less patient when it comes to these sorts of things. He winces when You does, grits his teeth when You lets out a small beep of discomfort, and when he’s finally done, he can taste metal and sickness behind his tongue. He hates that this hurts them so much.

“You’s done. Dummy, you ready?” Tony asks, slipping You free. You bumps against him, a gentle tug of his shirt around the arc reactor, and holds on as Tony pushes his chair over to Dummy. Tony smiles at him, pressing into the loose circuits behind You’s first finger, and You clicks at him in pleasure. He then taps him on the head and points to one of the tables. “Distract yourself while I upgrade your sibling. Go on.”

You wheels away, chirping happily, and Tony slides closer to Dummy. Steve is watching him with furrowed brows and Tony doesn’t want to think about it, instead works on carefully removing the panel that allows him access to Dummy’s mainframe. He works in silence, trying not to cause Dummy undue pain, and from the soft clicking, he’s managing so far. Steve’s voice mixes in with the crack of his tools, the whir of Dummy’s fingers, and the bang of You cleaning up. It’s strangely intimate and when Tony tweaks the last line of code, slams Dummy’s side closed, Steve is far closer than he was before.

Tony stares at him, can feel the warmth coming from how close he is, can count his eyelashes and catch the one’s lined up in the blue of his eyes. He shakes his head and looks back at Dummy, letting him free of the station. Dummy passes the blender cup to Steve before he wheels away, joining You on the other side of the room as they beep and click at each other in excitement. Tony stands abruptly, needing to move, needing to get away, and he grabs for the cleaning cloth You had been using earlier. The grease bleeds into his skin and he works on them furiously, hyperaware of how Steve had followed him when he walked away.

“You really love them, don’t you?” Steve says, soft.

Tony freezes. His skin burns from how hard he’s rubbing the cloth into his hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leaning past him to place the cup on the table, Steve catches his eyes. He looks apologetic again. “I didn’t mean to come between that.”

Glaring, Tony turns and whistles for Dummy. “Come on, come on, stop gossiping you two. You have practically the same upgrade. Dummy! Leave You alone. You’re just making him jealous. Help me clean up.”

“Tony.”

“And You, what happened here? Did you just throw everything on the ground?” Tony tries to walk away but Steve catches his wrist, pulls him back until Tony is practically pushed up against his side.

Steve leans in close, voice a shivering breath over his ear. “You’re their favourite, Tony. Just like you’re mine. Now go clean up.” And with that, Steve releases him, walking toward the door. Tony stares after him, shock warring in his system, and Dummy and You drop all tasks to trail after Steve, whistling in confusion. Steve drops a hand on both of them, clicking his tongue for good measure, and Dummy beeps back. When he turns to exit, he gives Tony a look, something Tony can’t even begin to interpret, before he’s gone.

Dummy and You wheel back to him, both bouncing in their eagerness. Tony shakes away the feel of Steve’s hand around his wrist, at the way his body had curled into Tony’s, and the lilt of his voice. He claps his hands and pins both robots with a look. “You two have it bad, you know. You can’t just up and drop everything when he comes down here. Help me clean up.”

The duo share what is most  _definitely_ a look and Tony throws up his hands. There is no way he is being chastised by his _robots_. No way at all. Dummy clicks at him in obvious exasperation and You hums Star Spangled Man. Tony ignores the flush of his cheeks as he starts disassembling the upgrade stations. 


End file.
